Santa Monica Fire Department Official Allegedly at Center of Immigration Raid Scandal Wildfire Firefighters
Angry After Fellow Crew Members Were Detained By Federal Agents
Immigration agents disrupted firefighting efforts on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula last week, detaining two crew members in a move that wildfire veterans say shattered long-standing emergency response protocols and jeopardized lives on the fire line. Some firefighters who were there believe that a current member of the Santa Monica Fire Department might be involved, as reported by Stateline.
The incident occurred on Aug. 27 during operations to contain the Bear Gulch Fire, which has scorched more than 9,000 acres in and around Olympic National Park. The raid stalled suppression efforts for hours and left hundreds of firefighters stunned and angry.
Nearly a dozen firefighters and contractors told Stateline that they felt a sense of suspicion and betrayal after the incident that led to federal agents detaining two members of a fire crew allegedly under the direction of California Interagency Incident Management Team 7, led by Incident Commander Tom Clemo.
The crews were allegedly sent to a remote site under pretenses and ordered to cut firewood for a local community.
Instead of fire managers, unmarked federal vehicles arrived, and U.S. Border Patrol agents began questioning the workers. “I felt beyond betrayed,” said an anonymous firefighter quoted by Stateline, “What they did was messed up. They’d been talking in their briefings about building relationships and trust. For them to say that and then go do this is mindboggling. It boiled my blood.”
Clemo, who also serves as Deputy Chief of Administration for the Santa Monica Fire Department, declined to comment on the allegations, citing an active investigation.
Team 7’s public information officer, Tom Stokesberry, did not respond to requests for comment, according to Stateline.
Photos and video shared with The Seattle Times show firefighters sitting on logs in full gear while federal agents wearing “Police” vests questioned them. Over three hours, agents demanded identification from two contractor crews, part of a 400-person workforce battling the fire.
At least one firefighter was seen being handcuffed, while others were told to remain seated. One crew member attempting to walk to his vehicle for water was called back by officers.
According to Border Patrol, the operation was part of a multi-agency criminal investigation into the contractors employing the crews. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested the identity check, officials said. Two workers were arrested for allegedly being in the country without legal status.
Wildfire industry leaders questioned the
basis for the investigation. Scott Polhamus, secretary of the Organization of Fire Contractors and Affiliates, said the entire operation appears to have been triggered by a 30-minute discrepancy on a time sheet — a common occurrence during wildfires where crews work long shifts in difficult conditions.
Federal officials later claimed the contractors’ government agreements had been terminated, but Polhamus said the companies remain eligible for future deployments despite their crews being sent
home.
One of the arrested men, a longtime Oregon resident, has become the focus of a growing legal fight. His attorneys say he has lived in the U.S. since age 4 and holds certification for a U-Visa, a special immigration status for victims of serious crimes who aid federal investigations.
The legal team argues his detention violates Department of Homeland Security rules that bar immigration enforcement against individuals with pending victimbased immigration benefits.
Santa Monica Police Arrest Suspect in Ocean Front Walk Stabbing
24-Year-Old Man
Taken Into Custody, Charged With Attempted Murder
Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in a stabbing that injured an adult male near 1615 Ocean Front Walk on Aug. 31, authorities said.
Officers were called at about 4:58 p.m. to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon at the top of a pedestrian staircase linking Ocean Front Walk to Appian Way. Responding officers found the victim with multiple stab wounds that were not life-
threatening, provided aid, and turned care over to Santa Monica Fire Department personnel, who transported him to a hospital.
After a follow-up investigation, officers on routine patrol recognized and detained Malvin Walker (born May 25, 2001) on Sept. 3 in the 1800 block of Ocean Front Walk. Walker was booked on suspicion of attempted murder. He was also booked on unrelated matters, including felony vandalism (no bail) and a $51,000 warrant for battery, police said. He remained in custody as of Thursday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Isaac Reyes at isaac. reyes@santamonica.gov or the Santa Monica Police Watch Commander at 310458-8427.
Santa Monica Declares State of Fiscal Distress
The resolution directs the city to develop a “budgetary stabilization and overall city realignment plan,” expected to be presented in late October
By Zach Armstrong
The Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to declare a state of fiscal distress, a move that will allow the city to leverage the designation to address its ongoing financial challenges.
Speaking on the resolution during Tuesday’s meeting, City Manager Oliver Chi said, “We really observed this not as a way to solve the problem, but as a tool that is part of a larger citywide game plan to address our fiscal situation in realignment of city operations in order to create
better organizational health within city operations, which is desperately needed.”
“This is to communicate on a piece of paper where we’re at financially,” said Mayor Lana Negrete. “We’ll use this when we’re dealing with government agencies for grants so we don’t have to rearticulate it in grant applications. [It] could be used to expedite the process to modify parking rates to realize revenues generated from that sooner. And lastly, to push legislators to understand how important this is so that legislation can pass to help Santa Monica and other counties which face financial insolvency.”
The resolution, which does not cut city services or grant emergency powers to the city manager, directs the city to develop a “budgetary stabilization and overall city realignment plan,” expected to be presented in late October.
The decision comes less than three months after the council approved the 2025–26 budget, which set expenditures at $484.3 million despite projected revenues of $473.5 million.
“Recent financial forecasts anticipate that the city will continue to operate a structural deficit for several years, and the city faces ongoing uncertainty that revenue projections may come in lower than expected,” a staff report from Tuesday’s meeting states.
Santa Monica’s fiscal woes stem in part
from legal payouts related to Eric Uller, a former city police dispatcher and alleged sexual abuser. Uller, who also volunteered with the Police Activities League (PAL) of Santa Monica, sexually abused teen boys who attended a free after-school PAL program from the 1980s until 2010, according to Los Angeles Magazine. In 2018, while awaiting trial, Uller died by suicide at age 50.
The city, which faces additional claims from more than 180 individuals, has paid out more than $229 million in settlements related to Uller, according to the report.
The COVID-19 pandemic also severely disrupted tourism and travel — major sources of tax revenue for the city — leading to a 23.9% budget cut and the elimination of more than 400 positions.
City services have not returned to prepandemic levels, and multiple capital projects remain unfunded, the report said.
“Due to the effects of the downturn in revenue since the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to pay the settlements from the city’s general fund reserves, the reserves are only at 61% of their pre-pandemic levels,” the report states.
Other cited challenges include tariffs, deportations, tax cuts, and deregulation.
The financial strain has already led Santa Monica to backtrack on major projects and events. In October 2024, the city council voted to renegotiate an agreement with
LA28 to host beach volleyball, which included plans for a 12,000-seat stadium next to the Santa Monica Pier, before backing out of the negotiations earlier this year.
“We are a city that I could characterize as the once-rich city of Santa Monica, which will be the rich city again sometime, but right now we’re not,” then-Mayor Phil Brock said during a 2024 meeting discussing the LA28 agreement. “The question is: How do we front money for the Olympic Games when we don’t have it right now?”
New Pacific Park Webstore Brings the Pier to You
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier is now bringing its seaside magic to your doorstep with the launch of its brand-new webstore. Visitors and locals alike can browse and ship their favorite Parkthemed treasures from anywhere, anytime.
The newly unveiled webstore (accessible at shop.pacpark.com), offers a range of souvenirs and apparel that evoke the playful, sun-soaked spirit of L.A.’s only admission free amusement park. The line includes T shirts, mugs, magnets and more — even a snow globe featuring the
Pacific Wheel. Stylish designs elements include Route 66 themes and colorful icons of Santa Monica.
This month, the store added a limitededition ‘Little Giants x Pacific Park Mamba Day’ tee. This collaboration between children’s streetwear company Little Giants and Pacific Park honors the legacy of basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in 2020. It’s named after Bryant’s ‘Mamba Day,’ which is celebrated on August 24. The high-quality cotton tees feature a cute bear wearing Bryant’s ‘24’ Laker’s jersey, and are available in white, black and gold.
These special tees are newly available at the Pacific Park web store, but if you’re after cool ocean breezes, thrilling rides and a stroll on the boardwalk, you can pick one up in person at Santa Monica Pier’s onsite store, Pier Gear. Located next to the famous Trapeze School, Pier Gear specializes in unique gifts and souvenirs. However, most of the items in Pacific Park’s webstore are exclusive to the online platform.
For Angelenos who can’t get a daily dose of the Pier, or tourists who fell in love with this beloved entertainment destination, the new digital storefront provides a way to relive the timeless charm of Pacific Park. It looks like the magic of Santa Monica just got a lot more accessible.
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The Faded Halo
OPINION
SMa.r.t.
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Santa Monica has always possessed a talent for self-presentation. The city markets itself as a peculiar kind of coastal utopia—a place where palm trees grow in neat rows, bicycle paths unfurl like moral imperatives, and progressive politics coexist harmoniously with multimilliondollar real estate. It is a community that has convinced itself, and many others, that its version of governance transcends
supervised community events, and routinely transported children to and from P.A.L. functions in official vehicles. His access was extraordinary, his authority unquestioned.
In October 2018, someone finally made the call that should have been made years earlier. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested Uller on multiple counts of child molestation. Within weeks, facing the prospect of trial and public exposure, Uller took his own life. The criminal case ended there, but the reckoning had only begun.
What emerged in the aftermath was
the ordinary failures of municipal administration. This self-regard, as it happens, became both the city’s defining characteristic and its most dangerous blind spot.
The Police Activities League represented everything Santa Monica wanted to believe about itself. Here was a program that seemed to crystallize the city’s highest aspirations: police officers and city employees volunteering their time to mentor children, fostering the kind of trust between law enforcement and young people that other communities could only dream of achieving. The image was irresistible—kids shooting baskets with cops, community building through sports, the very embodiment of enlightened civic engagement. It was also, as subsequent events would reveal, a façade concealing one of California’s most devastating child-abuse scandals.
Eric Uller occupied a curious position within this ecosystem. He was neither a police officer nor a coach, but rather a city information-technology specialist, the sort of quiet, reliable presence that large organizations depend upon but rarely notice. For decades, he inserted himself into the lives of vulnerable children, many of them boys from Latino families in the Pico neighborhood. He organized recreational activities,
while babysitting. It was the kind of discovery that should have immediately and permanently disqualified him from any involvement with children. Instead, the information was filed away, forgotten, or perhaps willfully ignored. Uller became not merely a participant in P.A.L.
a story of institutional negligence so profound that it bordered on the surreal.
In 1991, twenty-seven years before Uller’s arrest, a routine background check had uncovered a troubling piece of information: as a teenager, Uller had been arrested for molesting a toddler
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activities but a fixture—the volunteer who arrived early and stayed late, who seemed genuinely invested in the welfare of the children under his care.
The scope of Uller’s crimes, when finally tallied, defied comprehension. More than two hundred children had been victimized over the course of his tenure with the program. The number is so large that it initially strikes the reader as a typographical error, until one encounters it repeated in court documents, news reports, and the growing pile of civil lawsuits that would eventually consume the city’s attention and resources.
Santa Monica’s response followed a recognizable pattern. The city retained Praesidium, a consulting firm specializing in child safety, which delivered the recommendations that any reasonably attentive observer might have offered: implement proper training protocols, standardize policies across departments, create mechanisms for reporting and investigating concerns. A law firm was hired to conduct an internal review, parsing the question of who knew what and when (the review remains secret to this day). The Sheriff’s Department pursued its criminal investigation until Uller’s suicide rendered the effort moot. These measures provided the appearance of accountability without publicly addressing the fundamental question of how such a catastrophic failure had been allowed to persist for so long.
The financial reckoning, when it came, was staggering in its dimensions. An initial group of a hundred and five victims agreed to a settlement of a hundred and seven million dollars. A second group of a hundred and twenty-four victims received an additional hundred and twenty-two and a half million. The combined total, roughly two hundred and twenty-nine million dollars, represented an almost incomprehensible sum for a municipality of fewer than a hundred thousand residents. Calculated on a per-capita basis, every man, woman, and child in Santa Monica had effectively contributed nearly $2,500 toward the cost of the city’s failure to heed a warning it had received three decades earlier.
The settlements provided a form of justice for the victims and substantial fees for the attorneys who represented them. For the city, the payments represented something more complex—a crude attempt to purchase closure for a scandal that had exposed the hollowness of its carefully cultivated image. But the true cost extended far beyond the immediate financial impact. The money for the settlements came from the same municipal coffers that funded police patrols, infrastructure maintenance, and public services. In budget workshops held in March 2025, city officials spoke with the kind of grim urgency typically associated with corporate restructuring or municipal bankruptcy. They discussed depleting reserve funds, eliminating subsidies, and selling public assets. Basic services— streetlight repairs, garbage collection, playground maintenance—faced delays
and cutbacks. The city government, once flush with resources and confident in its mission, began to resemble a struggling startup, but without the prospect of eventual profitability, and this week the city declared a fiscal emergency blamed, in great part, on the child-abuse scandal (added to other factors, discussed in an upcoming article).
The irony was almost too perfect to be coincidental. The Police Activities League had been created with the explicit goal of keeping children safe, of providing them with positive adult role models and constructive outlets for their energy. In the end, the program became the vehicle for the city’s most grievous failure, precisely because it had welcomed the one person who should never have been allowed near children. The 1991 background check represented a moment of clarity that might have prevented decades of abuse. Everything that followed, the years of unchecked access, the mounting number of victims, the eventual reckoning, flowed from that initial failure to act on available information.
The survivors of Uller’s abuse succeeded in forcing Santa Monica to confront its own negligence, but the monetary settlements, however substantial, represent a limited form of justice. It is possible to assign a dollar figure to legal damages; it is far more difficult to quantify the destruction of trust between a community and its institutions and, most importantly, its victims. The more pressing question concerns the durability of the reforms that have been put in place. Will the new protocols be rigorously implemented, or merely adopted as bureaucratic window dressing? Will the next Eric Uller be identified and removed before he can cause harm, or will he simply become more adept at concealment?
Santa Monica’s reputation for enlightened governance has been grievously damaged, and whether the city has learned from the scandal—or merely learned to look as if it has—remains unclear. Rebuilding trust requires more than public relations; it demands lasting reform. The true test will come once the scandal fades, when old habits threaten to return. Future P.A.L. children deserve more than good intentions, however sincere; they deserve competent execution of those reforms.
Daniel Jansenson, Architect, for SMa.r.t., Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Robert H. Taylor, Architect AIA; Thane Roberts, Architect; Mario FondaBonardi, Architect AIA (former Planning Commissioner); Sam Tolkin, Architect (former Planning Commissioner); Michael Jolly AIRCRE; Jack Hillbrand, Architect AIA, Landmarks Commission Architect; Daniel Jansenson, Architect (former Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner); Phil Brock (former Mayor); Matt Hoefler, Architect NCARB
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Dr. Nancy Greenstein, Chair; Dr. Sion Roy, Vice Chair; Dr. Luis Barrera Castañón; Anastasia Foster; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Dr. Tom Peters; Rob Rader; Sophia Manavi, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 | smc.edu
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